Hi There & Welcome to my Blog! Thank you for your interest in knowing more about me and my work! Here are a few projects I’ve completed recently. I’ve posted a few progress pictures to give you a glimpse of my process. I will continue to do so in blog posts to come, so that you can be a part of the journey as well. The process is such an amazing thing; to start off on the flat surface beginning with measuring marks and flat shadow shapes, watch the person come alive as I refine details in the darkest darks and highlights. I work with a single light source for this to happen. The process of painting, I feel is one of the most difficult and most amazing things. Every time I sit down to paint a portrait, I give myself no distractions and immerse myself into the work before me, completely focused on the person as well as the knowledge I’ve learned and growing as each piece teaches me even more. Painting is even spiritual for me, during the process, I pray to God, the ultimate artist, and creator of all for His guidance and for the person I am painting. The first portrait is of my 4yr old son, Donny in pastel. I measured the height of his head to draw it to life-size which will be fascinating to look back on later in his life. We did a photo shoot before the portrait, which is especially challenging with my son, but very doable. This was one out of very few that I could paint from. It also seems to be those unexpected gentle glances that I adore. I love how this picture captures a part of him in his charm and childlike innocence.

The second portrait is an oil painting of Glen Stewart, one of my dearest friends. I am very fortunate to have a friend like him. Glen has posed for me many times, so I could paint him from life, but this painting is from a photo so that I could spend more time than he could pose for. We took many photos to get the best one for his painting. I think we made the best choice. Glen’s expression with his half smile and shining eye, intense red background and his soft green shirt turned out to be a beautiful reflection of this great man, whose character is full of a polite gentleness as well as a intense strength and emotion for the ones he loves.